How to balance writing for search engine and writing for an audience at the same time. Tips on how to develop content that is both SEO sound and engaging.

1. Copyright: 123RF Stock Photo

2. Hi, I’m Mordy Oberstein
Then Now

3. DID YOU KNOW
YOU ARE
WRITING
FOR TWO
AUDIENCES?

4. ON THE ONE HAND,
YOUR AUDIENCE MAY
ME THESE GUYS...

5. ON THE OTHER HAND,
YOU’RE ALSO WRITING
FOR THIS GUY…

6. I’M TALKING ABOUT…

7. WHILE YOUR AUDIENCE
MAY PREFER THIS:

8. GOOGLE MAY WANT
THIS:

9. HERE’S WHY…
The ultimate title for your
tire marketing content:
Go for the Gold with
Goodyear!

10. Vs.
Goodyear Tires are
the Best – Buy Them!

11. HERE’S
ANOTHER ONE:
Say you’re writing a piece of content
highlighting how to do things you don’t
like doing….
The Obvious Heading for Tip #1:
Just a Spoonful of Sugar

12. HERE’S WHAT
GOOGLE THINKS OF
YOUR “GREAT”
HEADING…
…. And from a search perspective, how
exactly does this help your content?

13. THE CATCH
22
ON THE ONE
HAND…
What good is great content
that your readers can’t find?
ON THE OTHER
HAND…
What good is content that
your readers can find but
won’t like?

14. HOW DOES GOOGLE
FIND RELEVANT
CONTENT?
It’s complicated but…
Google (still) looks at titles and
headers (title meta tags, H1s, & H2s).
(Even considering that it can be argued
that titles and headers have lost
importance over time....)

15. THE PROOF IS
IN THE
PUDDING
If you are writing about a
“Content Strategy Plan”…
… What word should be in
your title?

16. SO WHEN AND
HOW DO YOU
GO CREATIVE?
WITH TIPS ON:
• Creating interesting, yet “optimized”
titles
• How to go about balancing creative
vs. optimized H2s
• The storytelling process in
consideration of Google

17. MEET YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND…. TITLE TAGS!

18. HERE’S WHAT THE CODE LOOKS LIKE,
JUST IN CASE YOU WERE CURIOUS…

19. REIN IT IN THERE FELLA….
THERE ARE LIMITS!

20. YES, WE OFFER A
TOOL TO HELP YOU
WITH THIS TOO…
Warning!
This slide contains an
unabashed sales pitch.

21. LET’S PLAY
THIS OUT…
Content Topic: Making a wife happy
The Making of a Wife Happy –
5 Survival Tips Every Husband
Needs to Know
(H1)
How to Make Your Wife Happy
(Title Tag version)

22. … AND AS
SUBHEADINGS GO
(H2, H3, ETC.)
To go creative, or not to go creative…

23. SPEAKING WORDS
OF WISDOM…
LET IT BE
& go with something like:
Top Tips to Make
Your Wife Happy
Which in our case means:
Avoid a heading like:
Tips so That You
Don’t Miss with the
Mrs.
When it comes to writing headers for
the essential section of your content…
cater to Google.

24. OR YOU COULD TRY TO MIX IT UP
At times, it is possible to create an
H2 that is both “Google discernable”
and catchy…
… but don’t overdo it (no one
wants a ton of long headings).
A Hug a Day Keeps
Alimony Away – How to
Build a Healthy Marriage
“
“

25. BUT ALWAYS WALK
OFF IN STYLE

26. WHEN IT COMES TO STORYTELLING,
GOOGLE WANTS YOU TO
GIVE THE KIDS DESSERT FIRST
Good stories build up, they don’t show
their cards right off the bat (to use a ton
of idioms in one sentence).
Google thinks if it’s at the bottom, how
important can it be?
Conundrum. How do your
organize your content?

27. 321
IN OUR CASE
YOU MIGHT….
Start off with
some
stats on marriage
Offer some tips
on how a husband
might make
his wife happy
Bring in some research
on the effects
of a happy marriage

28. KICKING OFF WITH
GOOGLE IN MIND…
Here’s what we would start with
should we optimize for Google:
How to Have a Happy
Marriage

29. WHY WOULD A
READER WANT TO
KEEP READING?
You’ve revealed your most important
piece of content right away.
Now what? How do you keep readers
interested?

30. I’LL TAKE
CREATIVE HEADINGS
FOR 500
This would be a good time to go with
a very, very, very catchy H2.

31. IN A CASE LIKE
THIS, AN IMAGE IS
EVERYTHING
Keep readers interested with a great image.
It’s a cheap trick, but it’s a good one.

32. BY THE WAY, YOU CAN
CAPITALIZE ON SHOWING
YOUR HAND EARLY
Build on the interest you just created
and extend it to another topic of
significance.
Something like:
Jackpot! The Happy Marriage
Wealth Connection

33. DON’T GET HUNG UP
ON “THE RULES”
These are not unbendable rules that you
always have to follow for content
success, but more general guidelines.

34. BUT ABOUT WHAT
WHEN PUSH COMES
TO SHOVE?

35. THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF
MINE…
But hey, that’s just me!

36. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT’S A MATTER OF MINDSET

37. BUT ALSO
A MATTER OF
PRACTICALITY
Write what you want… then go back
and optimize/edit for Google.

38. CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET
ALONG?
There’s actually a great deal of
harmony.
Both writers and Google ultimately
want the same thing…
Quality Content

39. THE END … THANK YOU!
@mordyoberstein